Pneumatic door-operating mechanism.



'lf.'R. BROWN. PNEUMATIU DOOR OPERATING MBOHANISH. 4umlauulolI mijn 143,15, une. nnnnwnn In. l, 19o.

Il ,002x528q Patented v iNvENvTon;Y@1f

. TToRNEY vTHOMAS a BnowN, orl NEW Yon'x, N. Y.,

ASSIGNOB, BY Masini ASSIGNMENTS, 'ro

vNATIQNA'L NEUMATIC COMP-ANY, A CORPORATION 0F W'EST VIRGINIA.

PNEUHATIC noonforER-ATING MECHANISM.-

lspeci-mation of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug.. 29, 1911.

animation mailman, isos, serial no. 306,129. Renewed March 12, 1909. serial No. 483,060.

To whom it may conc'em:

Be it known that I, THOMAS R. BnowN, a citizeniof theUnited States, and a resident ofWNevv York. cit inthe county of New 1 York. and Stateo New York,`have inventedA ,certain new and useful Improvements e in A"Pneumatic Door-Operating Mechanisms, ofI

` vv'hichthe 'followin isa specification,-

The invention re ates to `improvements in :pneumatic 4door-operating mechanisms, and -1t consistsV in the no'vel features, arrange- *ments and combinations of parts hereinafter described, and particularly pointed out in the claim.-

' 'I present my invention hereinas applied to arlcar for opening and. closing the door thereof, and in its preferredembodiment my invention comprises means whereby' upon' the'movement of a control-handle to one pofsitionfcompressed will be caused to ef- 'fect the unlatching and.` opening o'f the door and upon the'v movementof said handle to anotherpositiomthe saine air, then acting against` a surface of larger., area, will be -c'aused toei'ect-A the closing of the'door, the ylatter becoming latched upon `reaching its ,Jfactoryl embodiment of'my invention will com rise a manually operable control-valve. to Wv ose casing a pipe from a reservoir for compressed air Wilv lead, a door-latchlng device to which a` pipe from said casing `will extend and pass thence to one endv of al cylinder whose piston-rod is connected with the dooryand-a second pipe leading from said valve-casing to the other end 'of Said cylinder. Upon the movement of the control valve to one position the compressed air will pass through its casing to the pipe leading to the door-latching device andy after fr eeingtlie latch from locking engagement with the' door, travel thence to the opeinng en d, as it may be'term'ed, of the lcylinder wherein Acasion may render most desirable.

it willact -to move the piston-rod in a direction to open the door and hold it open.

Thereafter upon the movement ofthe con- Atrol valve to another `position the air supply pipe f rom the reservoir will be cut off and the pipe leading from the' valve-casing to' the other or closing end of the cylinder will be placed into. communication with the pipe leading to the opening-end of Said cylinder, with the result that the'air in the system at one side of the piston will expand into the -'oipe'leading to the cylinder at the other side of said piston and enter the same,

wherein, lacting against a surface of larger area than'4 that in the opening-end of the cylinder, 1t will reverse the movement of the piston-rod and effect the closing of the door, the air 1n the then connected system of pipes and cylinderexhausting through a i suitable vent upon the door reaching itsA closed position and the latch then automatically passing into locking the closed door. V

The opening and closing cylinder may be located near yeither edge ofthe door as oc- The 'invention 'will be fully understood from the detailed description hereinafter presented, reference being had to the companying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a sidel elevation, partly broken away'and partly in section, of a car-equipped with door operating mechanism constructed in accordance with and embodying the invention, and Fig. 2 is a central vertical longitudinal section, partly broken away, of the piston within the cylinder being shown in engagement with the positionit occupies when the door is in closed position.

`Inthe drawings, 10 designates a portion Aof a common car, 11the door thereof, `12

the `control-valve casing, 13 the spplypipe for compressed air leading thereto from a reservoir 14, 15 the pipe leading from sald casing to the casing 16 for the door latch-` ing devices and;` extending thencel by a branch pipe 17 to the` opening end. 18 of the cylinder 19, 20a-pipe leading from the control-valve casing 12.",to ythe opposite or closin end, as it may be termed,.21 of said cylin er 19, and 22 apiston-rod secured at one end to the 'door and at the other end carrying the piston 23I within said cylinder 90 operating cylinder and connected parts,I the f travel during the Opening and closing f the door.Vy H Y The control valve withinthe casing 12 is operable by means of a` handle 26 andV is a `two-wayrvalve of any suitable character adapted when the handle 26 is turned to one .position to place the supply pipe 13 in communication .with the pipe" 15 and when -turned in another or' closing position to cut Off the pipe 13 and place the ipes 15, '20 in communication with `each other, so'that the air inthe pipe 15 may expand into the pipe20.

I do not limit myinventionto any special form of two-way` valve within the casing 12 but one example of such valve is illustrated in ldetail l1n my,v application, '.Serial' No. 483,058, of even date herewith for Let-f ters Patent for improvements in door-operl' ating mechanisms.

Withinthe casing. 16 for 28 directlyfbelow the pivoted latch-29 adapt ed: to engage acatch arm 30 secured to the door 11. YVhen thevalve27 is Iinfits lower positiony the stem 28- permits/the latch-29 to remain in. en agement-with thefcatch arm` 30, and said va ve 27 when in its lower osition `cuts `ofi? communication `froml the plpe` 15v tothe branch pipe'17.`- WVhen air is admitted to the pi e 15 for opening the* door it willfelevate th l the latch 29-fromthe Vcatch-arm 30 and also opien the port tothe pipe 17, into whichthe airwill "pass i on its 'wayy to |`the opening end 18 ofthe cylinder19. The latch- 29w11l re-l main in its elevated position so long asfthe air pressure remains 1n the pipe' 15 but after the door 1-1 hasbeen opened and then closed the airin the pipe vsystemispermittedy to exhaust and at such time tlie valve `27'will` descend and the latch '29 automatically ree engage the' catch-arni930. e y f ,In lthe operation otmy invention, the

` doorvbeingy in closedposition, the-contr0l handle 26 will be moved to place the supply'- pipe 13'in :communication with lthedoorlopening pipe 15, and there upon- 4the 'com-v pressed air, will 4io'w through the pipe 15 to the. casingl, unlatching the door, and

then through ythe branch -plpe 17 finto the ton facingthe same. When itis desired tto ,close the ,door k11thecontrol-handle'26- will be moved lto, its other orfclosed position and* t .l ing the door initsl closed: position. the door latch' ing devices is provided a v vertical "plunger valve27 from which projects a vertical stem e valve 27 and disengagethereby cut olf the supply pipel'l` plaee the pipes 15, 20 in communication with each other, and thereuponpthe air inthe p ipesf1' 17 and in thecylinder at the opening.. side ofthe piston, will expand into the pipe 2O and pass thenceintothei closing end 21 of the cylinder 19,- wherein saidv air acting against'thepiston 23 will drive the. latter `-f toits initial position shown in 4Fi .I and etfectthe closing of t-he'door. pon the door reaching its closed position ,a bypass` groove 31 in the wall'ofthe cylinder, 'at the" openin 'fend thereof, becomes partlyfun covere A y cylinder a'nd connected pipes to, 'exhaust I' sition and permit the latch 29 tov pass into' reengagement'with the4 catcharm Oflo'ck-' The vent-32 should beso relatively propoi'tioied'V piston a "distance sufficient to cut oi the land restricted in areaas topermitthe 'conjg' 'pressed .'a'ir to escape therethrough comparatively slowly so-thatA when'the pressure 'medium 1s initially supplied-to the opening 'end of the cylinderisuch medium will act'l *upon the face ofthe piston 23 and1I1ove"'tlii'j4 Aexhaust ofthe pressure medium through vent groove 32 beforey escape-'of suc'lrflnei preciable'extent. p I

TheV surface yarea' of the piston against ldium4 therethrough to any material" or Vapwhich the-air actsto'eii'ect the` opening of the door is less than the surface area against whichthe air' acts inforcing the door to'its" 'closed position, and thus 1I' am enabledzto utilize the same air'which"e'ectedttheopenf ing of the door, `for closing the same. The

diierence inthe-areas exposed to't'he action A' of the air at'opposite faces of the piston 23' is due to .the fact that -the piston-rod 22 occupies 'a portion of the'opening end of the cylinder and cuits oPa lportion of one;`

face of the piston.

What I claim-as my Iinvention to secure by Letters-Patent, is

In combination, in a mechanism formov-f ing doors or other devices, anfelement to'b'gf moved, a' stationary cylinder,'"afpistonther' and Vdesire i in, a piston rod connected to' the piston'zandlf to the element tol be movedjto moveth`e` latter, said rod being connected to' one side -of the piston whereby the piston has aless leffective area on-onefside than onrthe other',

operable -control vlilve cn- "supplyr o'ffcompressed air, lpipesleadiiig therefrom 'to the"v a`- manuali nected wit a source' respective ends ot'I thefcylinderfsaid valve,

-when moved 3to 'oneposition operatingo 'admit;the air'to"oney'ofsaidfpipes for mov!" ing the movablel member .in one'"direction,y i' and, whenlnoved -tofanother position, to cut"- :if the aili 'sgpply7 and lace said .pipes in comf Signed at New York city, in the county of nunication with eac other, whereby the New York, and State of NeuT York, this mir previously used at one end of the eyl- 13th day of Mameli A. D. 1906.

.nder is permitted to expand into the other THOMAS R. BROVV-N.' nd of` the lcylinder and utilized to move the Witnesses: novable member in the other direction, sub- ARTHUR MARION, 

